Broken Future, Forgotten Past
by WhiteHouses28
Summary: A normal girl. A forgotten past. And a broken-hearted future. Years after the time of her life, Kagome raises a fatherless daughter on her own. But what happens when the girl discovers for herself the truth about her mother's shattered past?


**Hi! I own nothing at all of the InuYasha characters or property, I just do this for fun! Please don't sue me!**

**Thanks for reading this story, I'm a _huge_ fan of InuYasha! Kagome. for ever! Boo down with Kikyou! ~WhiteHouses28  
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"No! No! No! No! No!" I said, gasping for breath as I ran with all my might trying to gain some headway down the sidewalk, not daring to stop even tie my shoelace. I was late for school... Again. I had forgotten to bring my lunch, and had been halfway down the street to my school; still thinking happily that I was going to be on time for once, and maybe even early to class for a change, and how satisfying it would be to see the surprised looks on everybody's faces when I actually arrived before the second bell. However, when I looked down at my empty hands and realized I had left my lunch on the kitchen table all the way back home. By the time I made it out of the house and down the street a second time, I had barely a moment to spare to make it into school before the doors closed- forget being early.

My mom had already left for work buy the time I arrived, but I could just picture her face if she had seen me burst into our house, looking frazzled and out of breath. She would, out of pattern, know exactly why I was back again, and then she'd merely smile her warm smile and sip her tea and go. "Oh Keiko, you're so scatterbrained. You didn't forget something at home again, did you?"

And then I would frown and want to make some snide remark, but then I wouldn't because she's mom, and it's impossible to stay angry at her for long.

But today, mom was off to work early. We were going to be heading over to our relatives house later, and so mom had said that she needed to get some good hours in early so she wouldn't get behind. Mom works really hard to support us. It's just the two of us here. No dad, just me and mom. It's always been that way.

I raced faster, and could hear the school bells chiming in the not to far off distance. I issued what must have been a billion "Excuse me, pardon me! On my way to class! Sorry!"s in apology for my pushy sidewalk manners while ran along. People stared after me and shook their heads, but I just kept running.

I finally made it up the board walk on the school grounds and into the main hall, but from there I had to slow down, lest I upset the school's over serious, and kind of dorky hall monitor, Seiji, by running down the halls at an "inappropriately fast pace". But it was hard to control myself. First period was all the way on the other side of the school and time was ticking...

I turned corners, went around bends in the hallways, and passed closed classroom doors. I finally reached the right door at the end of the longest hallway in the school, and felt shortly relieved. That is, until I actually opened the door.

"I'm here! Don't mark me as tardy!" I said bursting through the class doors, breathless, the red hair ribbons I always wear flying around my face. I gasped and looked around me. My face almost matched the bright red of the ribbons as I realized, mortifyingly, that I had, in my rush, come into the wrong classroom. The whole room just started at me. The teacher was poised, mid sentence, with a piece of chalk in hand, hovering just away from the black board. It had a complicated looking equation on it.

Oh no. Oh no! This wasn't even the right class! I was covered in sweat, out of breath, and lost. These kids were a year or so older than me, not even the same grade! I turned if possible, even redder as I apologized to the teacher for the interruption. I could feel people's eyes on me and almost hear the laughter they were barely holding in. I think the teacher asked if I needed any help with finding my class, but I didn't hear, and just mumbled something about being sorry. As I left, I slammed the door and headed off down the hall as fast as my legs would carry me.

And that, I'm afraid, was only the beginning of my soon-to-become worst day ever.

"It's okay sweetie, we all have our off days. I'm sure that before you know it, this will all be in the past, just a funny memory. You'll laugh about today years from now I just know it," my mom said as we drove along down the freeway.

I had just finished telling her about my disastrous morning at school. We were on our way to my grandparent's house, where my mom used to live.

"Yeah, years from now. What about tomorrow? I have to get through that first. And the next day, and the next... No one's going to forget something so stupid that quickly." I said miserably, leaning my head against the cold and fogged passenger seat window. The weather outside was as rainy and bedraggled looking as I felt.

"Oh, teenagers don't latch onto things like this forever. Just look at how fast kids move through trends and phases! I'm positive that by next week all of this will be forgotten." My mom said confidently, not taking her eyes off the road. My hair fell into my face as I leaned against the glass. I have dark brown hair, of medium length, that I always accent with a red ribbon headband, in my favorite shade. My eyes are the same as my mom's - deep blue. I've been told I look a lot like my mom did when she was 15, my age now, and that's probably true. She looks pretty much the same as she did at 15 even today. My mom became a relatively young mother when she had me, and I, being her only child, have gotten especially close with her. I wondered now if my mom ever had something as crazy as this happen to her when she was young? I know I get my scatterbrained behavior from her. She's queen of forgetfulness, but she's learned to organize herself. That's one skill I haven't quite mastered.

I sighed, folding my arms comfortably the way I do when ever I'm sitting or standing. Mom looked over at me then, in the way she sometimes does, where her eyes get this far off stare and her face looks all cloudy and kind of sad. I don't think she realizes she does it, but when I see that expression on her face, it always makes me feel blue. I don't like it when my mom gets upset. Not to be a cheese ball or anything, but she really is the best mom in the whole world, really. And she's had to raise me all on her own, without my dad. That's who she's thinking about when she gets that expression, I'm sure of it. I don't really know much about my dad to be honest. I don't really like to bring it up to mom, because well, she starts to look like how she's looking now.

"Mom...?" I said uncertainly. She seemed to snap out of it.

"Like I said, give it a week and this will all be in the past," she told me smiling and turning her attention back onto the road as if nothing had happened to interrupt our original conversation. I blinked and stared at my mom's face as she pulled the car to exit the freeway. She either was too intent on driving to notice my eyes on her, or she was tactfully pretending not to notice.

A few minutes later, we were pulling into my mom's old driveway, and getting out of the car and into the awful weather. Neither of us had thought to bring an umbrella. As we got out, I took in the yard, well kept and grandma's house sitting before us. In the distance, there was another structure, probably the shrine mom had told me that her family up-kept. Mom had gotten out, and stopped to examine a huge tree in the front yard of the house.

"Wow, that old tree's still here," she murmured to herself, shielding her eyes from the rain and staring up into the top bows of it. She slowly gently reached out a hand and brushed the tree's bark with her fingertips.

"How long has this been here?" I wondered quietly, not really asking.

"A long time. A very long time..." My mom answered my question anyways. Just then the door to the house before us was opened and I saw my grandmother coming out to greet us.

"Kagome! You came! And Keiko too..." She came over and gave us each a hug in turn. She pulled away from my hug and looked me over in the face thoroughly. "It's been so long since I've seen you dear, look how you've grown! You know, you look a lot like your mom, Keiko. But I expect people tell you that a lot." she said, patting my cheek in a gentle way.

"It's nice to see you again grandma," I told her smiling.

"Well, do come in, it sure it nasty out here with this rainy weather." She led us up the steps and into the house which was, thankfully, much more dry and comfortable then outside.

"Sota's in the living room with Grandpa," my grandmother told mom, and they exchanged knowing, exasperated looks. My mom's grandpa, my great-grandpa, is still living here with my grandma. He's about as old as all the stuff he collects, and loves to talk about his crazy ancient stuff to whoever will listen, whenever they'll listen. We made our way into the living room where I saw my young uncle sitting on the couch, looking miserable as he listened to what appeared to be a talking skeleton. My great-grandpa sat, wrapped in a "blanket full of history", on a "sofa of many ages" while he held a mug of "ancient ceremonious coffee" and blabbed about who knows what. Probably some old, gravely important toaster or something like that.

However, he stopped when he saw that mom and me had arrived, much to Uncle Sota's obvious relief.

"Kagome dear! How are you? Did you get that package I sent you? The one with the cucumbers?" he asked mom smiling enthusiastically.

"Um, no grandpa, it must have gotten lost in the mail," my mom said, turning away. I tried not to smile. We had actually received the package after all, only upon seeing who the sender was, and opening it, my mom had just fed the gift "How to pickle Pickles of History" kit to our cat instead.

"Too bad. You know the mail system isn't what it once was. I remember how it was in the old days. Back then you had too-"

"So, Sota, how have you been?" Mom asked cutting my grandpa off tactfully before he got any further.

"Fine! Really great! Work's been really insane lately. You?" He replied, seizing the opportunity gladly.

The conversation went on with small talk such as this until dinnertime, where we all moved to the kitchen to catch up more over food. The night was going fine until then. Pleasant, easy conversations, no uncomfortable or awkward sentiments. But, when the ramen came out, the tables turned for the worse.

"Ahh, ramen. Delicious," great-grandpa began slurping his noodles. Everyone nodded and kept eating. "I sure have discovered the wonders of delicious ramen late in my life, never got the chance. It's funny, you know I don't remember there having been much ramen around the house when you were younger Kagome. Oh, but now I recall! It was that one boy with the funny clothes and long hair of yours who ran us out of ramen every time he came to visit..."

It was slight, but I felt Grandma look up at her dad when he said this, half surprised, half nervous looking. Uncle Sota glanced at my mom slightly, the same nervous expression on his face as grandma. My mom fumbled with the salad tongs she was handling slightly, and you could see in her eyes, it looked like she'd just been mentally clobbered.

"Yes, well, who wants more soup?" asked Grandma, trying to change the subject quickly. But great-grandpa didn't pick up on the hint.

"I recall now, yes! He loved ramen, that boy did... Ramen... and potato chips-!"

"So, I have a new project I'm trying to put together for work, have I told you yet?" Sota asked over top great-grandpa, panicked sounding, also trying to help. But great-grandpa just kept talking on and on...

"He was an odd one, that kid. He had the most unusual name. I'll never forget it-"

"Yes, Sota, do tell us about your new project!" my grandma said slowly and deliberately, almost shouting with the effort to drown out what my great-grandpa was saying.

"It was-"

"Well mom, I'll tell you!"

"Inu-"

Clang! Mom dropped her fork with a little clatter. Everyone stared at her, even great-grandpa stopped his talking. She folded her hands under her chin and looked down at her half-eaten salad.

"Umm..." Uncle Sota started.

Mom stood up suddenly. "Mother, thank you very much for dinner and the company but I think me and Keiko should be heading back home now."

Grandma frowned slightly. This seemed to have been just the thing she had wanted to avoid.

"Alright then dear. Good to see you."

I blinked, not quite sure what had just happened, and followed behind as my mom got up and left the kitchen. She grabbed her coat in the entry way and without even checking to see if I was still with her, went outside. It was dark, and the rain hadn't let up. In fact, I think it was worse. Even through the sound of falling, heavy, rain, I thought I heard my mom let out a soft sob, and begin crying, but it was impossible to tell in this darkness.

When we reached the car, mom took one look at the tires and let out a groan of displeasure. "Oh no! The tires are stuck in mud! They're half sunk in..."

Her voice sounded choked as she trailed off. "Mom, are you...alright?" I began, coming to see if she needed a hug.

"Can you go get your uncle for me?" she interrupted suddenly. I stopped approaching. "I need him to dig out the tires."

"Yeah mom, sure thing," I said. I turned around and trudged back to grandma's house. Even though her back was to me, I knew my mom well enough by now to tell when she's upset, and if I wasn't mistaken, I was sure she had sent me back so I wouldn't see her crying.


End file.
